An individual or a company has to go through a lot of legal formalities if they want to open up an English language school in Thailand. The rules are governed by the Ministry of Education in Thailand and they have laid some requirements and conditions that must be fulfilled for setting up the school. Read on to know more about them.

Regulations for School Building

Following rules applies for a building to be used as a school.

It should be completely protected. There should be adequate equipment for fight fighting and must have a fire exit.
It should be permitted by the authorities to be used for educational purposes.
It must be independent and not be used any other business other than education.

Area of the Building

The area of the building depends on the courses offered. Following rules applies as per the duration of the courses.

The building must at least have the area of 100 square meters if the courses offered last for 6 months and are less than 600 hours.
The building must at least have the area of 200 square meters if the courses offered are longer than 6 months and are more than 1200 hours.
Each study room of the school must have the at least 20 sq. m. area with minimum 3.5 m width.
The school building must have separate toilets for men and women. Furthermore, it should also have adequate numbers of restrooms for the students.
The individual applying for obtaining the license of the school building must be the owner of the building.
In case, they have the building on the lease, the lease for the term shouldn’t be less than three years at the date of applying for the license. Furthermore, the purpose of the lease i.e. school building must be mentioned clearly in the lease agreement.

Conditions for Licensee

For Individual

The individual looking to obtain the license for the school building must abide by the following conditions. They must be ready with complete staff of the school for its operation i.e.

The executive or the principal
Lecturers and teachers for all the subjects
Other staff members including accountants etc.

Other conditions for an individual person in order to obtain the school license include:

The licensee must be a Thai national.
Minimum age requirement is 20 years.
Must have a bachelor or higher degree.
Must pose exemplary behavior.
The applicant of the license for school must be the honor of democratic form of government with the King as Head of State.
The applicant hasn’t been declared bankrupt by the court.
The applicant does not have a criminal case against them proving them guilty.
The applicant hasn’t been fired from any government position.
The applicant must not be the person who has a canceled school license on their name.
The applicant must not have been adjudged as an incompetent individual or quasi-incompetent person.
The applicant hasn’t been put in prison. In case if they have been acquitted, it should be 5 years prior to filing for a school license.

For Company

For a company, in order to obtain the school license, they must adhere to the following rules and regulations.

In case if the company has the registered address of the school building, it is only allowed to have one objective to follow that is education. It cannot operate any other business.
The company must have enough capital for the operation of the school.
The major shareholders of the company must be Thai national i.e. the maximum shares of the company must be owned by the Thai nationals and the maximum number of shareholders must hold Thailand’s nationality as well.
The company should have a Thai director. The director must have the same qualifications as mentioned for the individual above.

Principal/ Executive

There are certain regulations and conditions laid by the Ministry of Education for recurring principal for a school. The conditions include:

They must be Thai national.
The minimum age restriction is 20 years.
They need to have a bachelor degree or higher in order to be hired as principal. Furthermore, they must have teaching experience of at least 1 year or relative experience.
The appointed principal must not have any prohibited disease.
They must not be declared bankrupt by the order of the court.
The principal hasn’t been put in prison. In case if they have been acquitted, it should be 2 years prior to filing for a school license.
The applicant hasn’t been fired from any government position.

Required Documents

A letter is prepared by the applicant that includes the details of the selected principal/executive for the school. It must also have the following documents of the selected principal attached with it:

A copy of their educational certificates
House registration book’s copy
A copy of their ID card
A copy of the employment agreement
Medical certificate
Previous Work Experience Certificate

Teacher

All the teachers appointed for the school must have the qualification license. They must not possess prohibited attributes as regulated under the laws of Teacher Council and educational personnel.

Lecturer

The lecturers, in order to be appointed, must abide by the following conditions.

They shouldn’t be less than 18 years of age.
They must have the adequate knowledge and expertise of the subject matter as per the requirement of the law.
They must have exemplary behavior.
The applicant must not have been adjudged as an incompetent individual or quasi-incompetent person.
The principal hasn’t been put in prison. In case if they have been acquitted, it should be 2 years prior to filing for a school license.
The applicant hasn’t been fired from any government position.

Courses

The applicant must prepare a plan to set up the school and the courses that will be offered in the school. It must be mentioned in the form that is regulated by the Ministry of Education in Thailand.

The process of obtaining the school license can be very hectic and taxing. Hence, it is strongly advised to avail the services of Sun Belt Asia Legal Advisors for a convenient and hassle-free process. Contact us now at (+66) 02-662-7004 or fill in the form below to enjoy free first consultancy session.

Thailand School License